Living Room Fireplace Reveal

So tickled to finally get to share our finished fireplace with you all today! It is an absolute dream; I can’t believe this is the same house we moved into 9+ years ago! A few weeks ago I shared our plan and inspiration here, and now that it’s finished it’s even better than I had expected. As with most projects, some of the details evolved as the build came together, but I think it’s worth sharing the plan I had laid out last January. So almost a year ago!

And here’s where we ended up:

We could not be more grateful to our dear friend, Bill, who spent the better part of 3 weekends coming over to help us with this. To say he is incredibly skilled is a massive understatement, but beyond that even is his generosity. We were so blessed by his knowledge and willingness to help - and all I did was send him home with bacon! Listen, there’s more where that came from for anyone out there who wants to help the Biebers with home projects. Lol!

At the last minute we decided to paint the shelves and bench seat white to let the mantle really stand out. The mantle was removed from our dear friends’ 1960-something fireplace when they started their home renovation. They decided to replace it during their own home reno process, so we lucked out big time - it is SUCH a gorgeous, chunky piece of wood. The years of use have banged it up and faded it’s color and that kind of character is just what our new structure needed.

Funny, we moved the sofa to this side of the room, (it was previously against the windows), just to get it out of the way during the construction. It didn’t take long for us to love it this way! The kids said they prefer it here, facing the fireplace, so I think we’ll leave it! Plus, we’ve got to make space for the Christmas tree this weekend. No idea where it’ll go. Send any suggestions my way because I am stumped! Hah!

Adding a bench to the side was one of my favorite ideas that helped the whole thing come together for me, visually. We didn’t know whether to add shelves to this side, cabinets, or what. It was really tricky to figure this side out! When the thought of a bench with storage inside came into play it was just perfect. Bill created a lid that comes up like a piano bench, and it’s the easiest access to our new hidden storage.

I think I mentioned this in my last post, but link to our actual insert is here, and we are really pleased with the unit. It warms our large open space up very well and is completely safe for little ones, (the glass doesn’t get hot because the warm air is pushed out of a vent only at the top of the unit). The insert itself does not heat up, making it completely safe inside its frame of drywall and 2x4s. The unit is plugged into an outlet accessed inside the storage bench, and we can slide the unit out of the frame anytime we need.

That’s it! Hard to measure what a difference this has made to our home. With such an open floor plan I have already been enjoying having the fireplace on while in the kitchen, during homework time, dinner; it’s just been wonderfully cozy.

Speaking of, here’s a sneak peek at our Christmas mantle…

More Christmas coming soon!

Thank you so much for stopping by today!

Small Business Saturday: Planning Guide + A SMH Deal!

Hi friends! The holiday season is blissfully upon us and Cate and I have some exciting content to share with you over the next few weeks! Kicking things off I wanted to help you guys out as you prepare to check off your gift list, (substantially this weekend if you’re anything like me!) We’ve shared favorite finds on here before but today I wanted to focus on Small Businesses. As my friend Collin, (a skilled woodworker), recently shared, “Let’s plan for Small Business Saturday, guys!” Meaning, 1) You do have to plan for it! Shopping from small businesses or local businesses can take a tad bit more time than a one-stop box store. Hopefully we can help you out with our round up of favorites! 2) There is a designated day to shop from small/local businesses, did you know that? The Saturday after Thanksgiving is when many small businesses offer their own deals and discounts! Shopping small is a tremendous way to support entrepreneurs depending on successful sales for their livelihood. We know LOADS of families where one or both parents are supporting their family on the income provided by their small business. It’s risky and takes around the clock work. So let’s support these brave makers and give in more ways than one!

Dani Barbe Dani makes the most beautiful pieces right from her own home - we designed her studio and workshop, in fact! Her jewelry magically suits literally every style out there - from glitz and glam to earthy and casual.

Salty Brothers Soap Started by high school friend, Billy, my entire family can attest that these soaps more than just clean. Using tried and true combinations of all natural elements like dead sea clay, charcoal, locally sourced olive oil and CBDs, these soaps revitalize, detoxify, and aid in relieving muscle soreness.

Willow and Rush Kaity, a sweet Mama balancing stay-at-home life with the cutest babes and her self-started candle company probably doesn’t realize she is dominating the candle market, in my opinion. I need three things in a candle - a gorgeous container, (hello amber jars), small scale size, (8oz jars are a perfect size for grouping with other objects on a coffee table/shelf), and an out of this world scent that doesn’t make me dizzy, (White Birch for me - all day, every day).

Mae Woven When Emmy started sewing things for herself and her home, little did she know a booming business was in her near future! Now she leads her team supporting other women from around the globe to source the highest quality material to create the highest quality home goods.

Sugarhouse Ceramic Co. A husband and wife team creating small batch pottery from their cabin in the woods of Vermont? I’m in.

Simply Eco Store There is something contagious about a company who’s mission it is to reduce pollution and help our precious planet. Our family has been taking steps using products from Simply Eco Store to decrease our waste and it feels good. Gift yourself and gift a friend because it’s a mission we will all benefit from.

And finally, we want to gift you, too!

Saturday 11/30 over the entire 24hrs you can purchase 45 Minutes of Design Tips for $45 to redeem anytime in 2020! The Design Tips will be done via video chat, (Facetime, Google Duo, Whats App, etc), so you can show me around your home and discuss your needs! I will listen and make suggestions including paint colors, furniture ideas to consider, furniture layout, art arrangement, styling ideas, and anything else I feel would be helpful for the way you live in your space. If this sounds like something you’d like to treat yourself with, or someone you love, please email chelsea@stylemutthome.com and I will direct you how to pay and send you a digital certificate you can share with your loved one.

We hope this list helps you get started on your holiday gifting! Remember to take time to slow it down; time is truly the best gift and spending it with those you love will never be a regret.

Living Room Feature Wall Makeover

I’m never short on ideas for our 1980s partial split level, it’s true. But they go through a rigorous filtering system, I promise! Step one: Tell Matt the idea. Ha! Over our 9+ years as homeowners, I’d say we’ve become a pretty good design team! Never thought I’d be saying that, but Matt's background and interest in basic construction has rounded out to a really creative eye as well. It’s been a lot of fun seeing this side of him come out, and I genuinely trust and depend on his opinion.

So in January of this year when I tossed out the idea of doing an electric fireplace on the main wall of our living room, I trusted it would take him some time to mull it over. Which I was prepared for! I had created a digital design of what it would look like in our space and had gathered some inspiration to get the creative juices flowing. But first, let’s take a look at what our living room looked like at the beginning of the year!

The industrial pipe shelves were one of our favorite DIY projects together, (how-to here!), but after we did our kitchen renovation last Fall, there were a lot of industrial elements in the space and these were easily the heaviest. I really love these shelves, but I have grown a strong appreciation for design that suits the space, and our home just doesn’t have that kind of industrial vibe. I love that style, personally, but I need to be careful with how to implement it. SO, I sold these at the end of the summer and made room for a new wall feature!

There were a lot of images that inspired our plan, but I narrowed down to share my top three. We will be incorporating elements of each of these in our final design!

This image by Carol Estes won me over the first time I laid eyes on it. The ‘nook’ created by the fireplace bump-out and the adjacent wall is the perfect size for built-in shelves. Our plan includes a similar sized nook which we will run the full length up with shelves. Carol is one of my favorite designers to follow on instagram! Her spaces are earthy but interesting, and she always peppers in some details that are unique, like the dark painted wall behind these shelves! You can follow Carol here!

This is the tutorial we are following almost precisely for our surround! When Erin from Kismet House shared that they built a surround for their electric fireplace, I completely hung up my idea of doing a real fireplace in favor of this maintenance-free, less invasive option for our particular home. Her tutorial is here and we followed the shopping list and step-by-step almost exactly. We have a vaulted ceiling, so our measurements and cuts were a little different, but you get the idea!

Amber Lewis is my absolute favorite interior designer. I have been so inspired by her story of starting from scratch, (college dropout), and hustling hard to grow her business. Her style is laid back but full of interesting pieces. This image inspired a little built-in bench we’ll be doing on the other side of our surround. We need storage on our main floor so ours will have a flip up lid, like a piano bench. You can follow Amber on Instagram here!

So our plan is a mix of other peoples designs. This is what I created and showed Matt, and what we are attempting to build! Thankfully, we have a very talented friend helping us out so it shouldn’t be too far from this when all is said and done!

Thank you so much for stopping by! Come back soon for the final reveal!